There are many utility assets above ground and below ground in a geographic (project) area that need to be protected and avoided during construction activities in the project area. Furthermore, often some of such utility assets are damaged or need to be repaired and/or updated. Included in these assets are utility lines and components and protected areas, such as archeological sites, riparian zones, and habitat of endangered species. These utility lines include, without limitation, electric power lines, telephone lines, water lines, sewer lines, fiber-optic cable lines, natural gas transmission lines, natural gas distribution lines, and utility lines for transporting hazardous liquids.
There are several practices currently in use to help address damage prevention when groundbreaking or other construction equipment is used around utilities and other assets that need protection. One example includes marking the location of an underground utility asset by painting lines on the ground. Commonly, the utility companies and/or locate service companies are called to the site to place marks (place flags or spray paint on the surface of the ground with an identifying color, for example, red for electric lines, yellow for gas lines and so forth) on the surface to demarcate the location of a specific utility line and/or its components. Such marking is temporary by nature and typically lasts only for the one earth moving operation or ground breaking operation such as removing the surface cover such as pavement, cement, dirt, for which the utilities were marked.
Another typical approach is to make a record of the location of the utility lines as the line was placed in the earth by creating a drawing showing the asset location relative to an existing feature or landmark such as a curb or building. However, the accuracy of the location is dictated by the accuracy of the reference point.
However, in many instances the precision or accuracy of the (location) data in different databases varies, for example, according to how the data was collected, the accuracy of the device that collected the data, the accuracy of the underlying software, and the map/GIS engine. For example, one company's database may have location data accurate up to 5 inches, while another company's location data is accurate up to 1 foot, while the underlying software has an accuracy of 2 inches, and the user's viewing device, e.g., a mobile phone or a tablet has an accuracy of 1.50 feet. Furthermore, users and/or some types of utility assets may have different accuracy requirements.